Dystopian Visions
One of the most important ways we can think about our world is to evaluate how
our society (through its principles and its practices, its values and its policies, its beliefs
and its institutions) impacts those that live in it and the world itself. The work of social
commentary gives voice and vision to what we observe about our society, both its virtues
and its flaws. More often, however, a work of social commentary will illuminate the
problematic issues our world faces as a result of our society. One way to address these
issues is through a discussion of one’s own, current society and culture. Another way to
make a social commentary, though, is to envision a fictional world that mirrors one’s
own. Through this mirror, the social commentary can guide us in reflecting on how the
problems in the fictional world are applicable to our own world and our own society and
culture.
This is the essence of dystopia—a world that is deeply flawed because of the
beliefs and behaviors of society, or at least some segment of that society if not the society
as a whole.
For our exploration of social commentary through dystopian visions, you will
choose one of the following books to read, reflect on, and to be the starting point of a
project of your own:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
The Stand by Stephen King
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
Divergent by Veronica Roth
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Running Man by Stephen King as Richard Bachman
1984 by George Orwell
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfieffer
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Along with the reading of your chosen novel and your reflections in your journal,
you will also complete a two-part project where you will explore the novel and the
author’s social commentary.
You will choose one prompt from the list of Essay Questions to develop into a
more formal analytical essay about your novel.
You will choose one idea from the list of Project Options to develop into a work
of your own art inspired by the novel.
For each part, focus on an area that is a strength for you. Your project will be
graded based on the thoroughness of your work, including the quality of the final product.
Essay Questions (choose only one)
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How is the central issue or problem of the society in the novel a reflection of a
current issue or problem in our society?
How does the author show the danger or harm posed by the beliefs or behaviors
of society in the novel?
How has our society changed since the publication of the novel, and do these
changes suggest we are moving towards the author’s dystopian prediction or in a
different direction?
What beliefs and practices of our current society do you think will cause our
future to match more closely the author’s dystopian vision?
What are the core values of the author implied by what she or he describes as the
flaws in the fictional world of their novel and/or by the virtuous acts of characters
that challenge these problems?
What solutions, or change in direction, does the author’s social commentary
imply as a just response to society’s flaws and how is this developed in the novel?
How do the studies or ideas in a particular area, such as psychology, economics,
biology, etc., support or challenge the author’s premises or conclusions?
In what ways might the flaws the author reveals of society in his or her novel be a
metaphor or analogy for a specific flaw in our society, perhaps seeming more
ordinary or common in our world as compared to the author’s depiction of this in
the fictional world of the novel?
How does the author’s social commentary in your chosen novel compare with the
commentary in another dystopian novel you have read?
Propose a question you want to explore about the novel.
Project Options (choose only one)
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Select and arrange a playlist of 5-7 works of music and burn a CD which conveys
the themes, moods, characters, or moments of the novel. In addition to the CD,
you will write a discussion of each musical choice—which specific part(s) or
themes of the novel you feel it connects with or conveys and how the musical
instrumentation and/or lyrics achieve this.
Create an original work of art (visual, musical, cinematic, or performance)
inspired by the novel. Consider how your work reflects a major theme, moment,
or style of the novel.
Create an original work of art (literary) inspired by the novel. For poetry, create a
minimum of 50 lines, which may be divided among several poems. Consider
especially your use of imagery.
Create an original work of art (literary) inspired by the novel. For prose, create a
short story that expands on something in the novel. This could be events that
happen in the novel which you develop into a full story, events that did not
happen but which would fit in with the novel, or developing another character’s
experience (someone the main character had encountered in the novel).
Propose an idea for your project.